Before Jiang Yuan could say anything, Shen Hanbing spoke first, “My master will stay, and I won’t. Just one room will do.”
“Alright.” The innkeeper nodded quickly and handed the key to Jiang Yuan.
After arranging Jiang Yuan’s accommodation, Shen Hanbing bid farewell and returned to her own place, leaving Jiang Yuan alone in the inn.
A quiet night passed.
*
The next morning.
A brilliant glow of dawn emerged from the eastern horizon.
After a brief freshening up, Jiang Yuan left his room.
Originally, he and Shen Hanbing had agreed to go together to the Martial Arts Alliance division. However, Shen Hanbing was running late, so Jiang Yuan had to go on his own.
“Hold on!”
Jiang Yuan had just turned the corner when a man’s voice came from behind him.
He turned to see two young martial artists standing in front of him. One had short hair and a rugged demeanor, while the other had long flowing hair and a somewhat gentle appearance.
The rugged martial artist introduced himself first, “I’m Zhang San.”
The more gentle-looking one followed, saying, “I’m Li Si.”
Both of them said in unison, “We’ve come to join the Martial Arts Alliance.”
“What does that have to do with me?” asked Jiang Yuan with a puzzled expression.
Li Si, the gentle-looking one, said, “I can tell that you’re quite strong, right? I want to challenge you to a duel!”
“A duel? Sorry, I’m not interested.” Jiang Yuan instantly felt disinterested. He couldn’t muster enthusiasm for such a trivial matter.
It was like a mighty lion having no interest in dueling ants.
Li Si drew his sword, pointed it at Jiang Yuan and said, “We won’t let you leave until you’ve dueled with us!”
As Li Si finished speaking, a boorish voice sounded from the end of the street, “The Omni-Master has arrived! All you riff-raff, get lost!”
Everyone turned their heads to see three powerful cultivators riding horses, recklessly traversing the street.
These three cultivators wielded different weapons but wore identical white robes. The back and front of their robes were embroidered with the words “Omni-Master” in black.
The one who had spoken earlier was the one-eyed cultivator.
Behind the three cultivators were several snow lion horses pulling a golden carriage.
Seeing the golden carriage, the pedestrians all stepped back and reverently knelt down.
Everyone was kneeling except for three individuals who stood out conspicuously: Jiang Yuan and the two challengers, Zhang San and Li Si.
Zhang San was somewhat astonished. “Such a grand scene! Is this Omni-Master the one ranked fifteenth in the Earth Ranking, the Omni-Master who loves to take disciples everywhere?”
Li Si nodded, “In the entire Zhongzhou, there’s only one person who can be called the Omni-Master. It’s said he’s a master of eighteen different martial arts, making him the most versatile among all Earth-ranked martial artists.”
Seeing that someone dared not to kneel, the one-eyed cultivator immediately shouted, “Bold commoners! When you see the Omni-Master, you must kneel immediately!”
Both Zhang San and Li Si retorted with dissatisfaction.
“He’s not a king or noble, why should we kneel for him?!”
“We’re all martial artists in Zhongzhou, there shouldn’t be distinctions between high and low. Even if he’s a senior in the Earth Ranking, he has no right to make us kneel!”
Both Zhang San and Li Si were top talents from Qingshan City and held high positions there. They couldn’t recall ever bowing to anyone.
“Merely at the Elemental Gathering Second Stage and yet daring not to kneel before me. Zhao Zhan, teach them a lesson,” a haughty voice came from the luxurious golden carriage.
“Yes, Master.” Zhao Zhan, the one-eyed cultivator, respectfully saluted the carriage before dismounting and walking towards Zhang San and Li Si.
A powerful surge of energy erupted from Zhao Zhan, shrouding the entire area.
“Ranked 960th on the People Ranking, Zhao Zhan. He’s actually joined the Omni-Master’s sect!”
“I remember just a few months ago, he was only at the peak of Elemental Gathering Third Stage. I can’t believe he has already broken through to Elemental Gathering Fourth Stage now.”
“It seems that joining the Omni-Master’s sect has brought him significant improvements!”
For a moment, everyone looked enviously at Zhao Zhan.
“Condensing to the Fourth Stage of Elemental Gathering? That’s exactly what I wanted!” Sensing Zhao Zhan’s cultivation level, Zhang San not only didn’t back down but appeared very excited.
As one of the top talents in Qingshan City, challenging opponents of higher levels was something he was accustomed to.
“Zhang Family Fist!” Zhang San gathered his qi into his fists, executing a powerful set of punches, and each packed with tremendous force.
“Could this person be the Zhang San, one of the twin prodigies of Qingshan City?”
“If this person is Zhang San, then the one with him must be Li Si.”
Among the onlookers, some were from Qingshan City itself and had knowledge of the situation.
The two most powerful families in Qingshan City were the Zhang family and the Li family.
Zhang’s martial arts and Li’s swordsmanship were both high-grade martial skills of the Yellow rank, the pinnacle of martial arts in Qingshan City.
Most of the geniuses who left Qingshan City had their roots in these two prominent families.
Zhang San and Li Si were the most renowned young talents from these families in recent years.
In terms of talent and strength, they were the cream of the crop among their peers which earned them the title of Qingshan City’s Twin Prodigies.
While the crowd discussed, Zhang San had already engaged in combat with Zhao Zhan.
Although Zhang San’s punches were powerful, Zhao Zhan skillfully deflected every attack, and Zhang San couldn’t land a single blow.
“You dare to showcase this mediocre Triangular Cat Kung Fu? Allow me to show you what true superior martial arts look like!”
Zhao Zhan sneered in disdain and gathered his qi into his fists, performing an even more powerful set of punches which each caused the air to explode with thunderous roars.
“This is the Yellow-rank high-grade martial skill – Explosive Fist!”
“To think that even this high-level martial skill is taught by a Grandmaster!”
“To have the privilege of learning from a Grandmaster is truly a blessing!”
The onlookers couldn’t help but admire Zhao Zhan even more, and wished they could switch places with him.
Because they were well aware of the prowess of the “Explosive Fist” martial skill.
Boom!
A loud noise echoed as Zhao Zhan’s fist struck Zhang San’s chest, causing a violent explosion.
Splurt!
Zhang San spat out blood and was sent flying, his clothes torn open, and his chest a bloody mess.
The spectators were in awe of the terrifying power of this martial art!
Even someone as talented as Zhang San was reduced to such a state after being struck by that single punch.
If it were any of them taking that blow, they would likely be shattered into pieces!
As Zhang San was sent flying, Li Si drew his sword.
“Li Family Sword!”
Li Si went all out, executing his signature “Li Family Sword” with precision, and slashing towards Zhao Zhan at a tricky angle.
“Is this what you call swordsmanship?” Zhao Zhan also unleashed a sword strike, seemingly ordinary, but it created phantom afterimages after being executed.
Swish!
Swish!
Two flashes of swordlight crossed paths, and both combatants stopped about five meters apart.
Thud!
Li Si knelt down weakly, blood gushing from his right shoulder, and spraying up to half a meter high.
Meanwhile, Zhao Zhan stood unscathed, his right hand holding the sword high, blood dripping from the blade.
Gasps filled the entire audience.
One second.
From Li Si’s attack to his defeat, it only took one second.
And Zhao Zhan defeated Li Si with just one move.
This move was the “Phantom Sword,” a Yellow-rank high-grade martial skill personally created by the Grandmaster.
The “Phantom Sword” had thirteen forms, each more powerful than the last.
Although Zhao Zhan only mastered the first three forms, they were enough to defeat Li Si, a young talent from a small city.
This highlighted the vast difference between the “Phantom Sword” and the Li family’s inherited swordsmanship.
It was like night and day!
“What a joke, calling themselves the Twin Prodigies of Qingshan City, they’re just a bunch of country bumpkins!” Zhao Zhan disdainfully looked at the two.
His words felt like a slap to Zhang San and Li Si’s faces, leaving them feeling ashamed.
In Qingshan City, they were top talents but here, they were nothing.
Not just Zhang San and Li Si, even the other martial artists from Qingshan City felt humiliated.
They had never imagined that the top talents from their hometown would be so far behind the martial artists from the central city.
From Zhao Zhan’s attack to now, it had been only a brief ten seconds.
In just over ten seconds, two prodigies were defeated instantly. It was hard to fathom just how powerful this Zhao Zhan was.
Even Zhao Zhan himself was so formidable, so how powerful must his master, the Grandmaster, be?
It was simply unimaginable!
Totally unimaginable!
“It’s just you left. Will you kneel on your own, or shall I help you?” Zhao Zhan cast a scornful glance at Jiang Yuan, who was turning to leave.
